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Photo by: Bureau Waardenburg
Did you know?
The Purple heron used to be a relatively common marsh bird in the western part of the Netherlands with about 1000 pairs. Since the early seventies of the last century, the population declined significantly, but increased again since the nineties. The decline was mainly caused by a severe dry period in the Sahel zone in Africa. Recent wet years supported the recovery of the population. However, the population grows slowly and did not reach its former size yet. This is partly caused by a lack of marshlands for breeding and still unknown bottlenecks on their migration route.
Photo by: Bureau Waardenburg
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Tracking Dutch purple herons
The Argos satellite system is an important tool used by scientists to study purple herons.
Discovering migration routes and wintering areas
In the Netherlands, Vogelbescherming Nederland and Bureau Waardenburg cooperatively started in summer 2007 with equipping Purple Herons Ardea purpurea with ARGOS satellite transmitters. In 2008 Wetlands International joined the project.
The project's aim is to get information on migration routes, stopover sites and wintering areas in Africa. The project also aims at strengthening the international nature conservation network and involving the general public in bird migration and wetland conservation issues.
The herons' whereabouts
In summer 2007 and 2008, a total of 16 herons were equipped with transmitters. The birds were trapped at their nests with specially developed traps. During their migrations, they made stops in France, Spain and North Africa before crossing the Sahara. Their individual journeys can be viewed on their individual pages at the websites of Vogelbescherming Nederland and Wetlands International.
Click here to download our Argos Wildlife brochure.
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Image by: Bureau Waardenburg
Contacts: Aline Duplaa
E-mail:
+ 33 5 61 39 48 58
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